#27 Huetter, Idaho

Metro Spokane Places to Live

2020 population: 120
Drive time to downtown Coeur d’Alene: 13 minutes
Drive time to downtown Spokane: 30 minutes

Overall Character: ☆☆☆☆☆
Urban: ★☆☆☆☆
Suburban: ★★★★☆
Walkability: ☆☆☆☆☆
Market Activity: ★☆☆☆☆
Farm Town: ☆☆☆☆☆
Timber Town: ☆☆☆☆☆
Lake / River Town: ★☆☆☆☆

Huetter Community Description

There’s not much to say about Huetter other than it’s a tiny municipality with stale homes and the ever-present din of Interstate-90 in the background. Located between the cities of Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls along Interstate 90, Huetter is a forgotten location within metro Spokane for good reason.

On the upside, it’s close enough to Spokane River access to add value. For instance, one could walk to the river and jump in it or hike along it any time. Trouble is Huetter doesn’t have any sidewalks, nor does Huetter have a tax base to build them.

Directly adjacent to Huetter, in the unincorporated hinterlands of Kootenai County, is a gleaming new, walkable subdivision project along the Spokane River called Mill River.  It creates a hell of a contrast, Huetter and Mill River. One old, one new. One tied to the recreational amenities that surround it, one not. One with sidewalks, one without. One with vision, one without. One Mill River, one Huetter.  

There are places in the urbanized Spokane metro that have a unique ability to resist overwhelming market forces due, simply, to utter incompetence. Huetter is one of those places.

(Featured photo from Mike Bomstad, Google Maps)